Commission debates agritourism dairy and forwards several AT‑zone uses to council

The Planning Commission spent substantial time April 7 weighing whether the city’s Agricultural Tourism (AT) zone should allow commercial dairies and other agritourism uses, ultimately forwarding a package of allowed uses to the City Council while reserving decisions about full‑scale dairies.

Staff asked the commission to consider whether to permit commercial dairies in the AT zone after the council asked planning staff to review the allowed‑use table. A dairy definition already adopted in the code describes "a farm or agricultural operation used for keeping, breeding or raising dairy cattle or other milk‑producing animals and for the production, storage and handling of milk for wholesale marketing." Commissioners noted that definition contains no animal‑count or scale limits and said that distinction is crucial.

Several commissioners and residents urged caution. Commissioner Tammy said scale matters and argued that a large commercial dairy does not align with the educational and small‑scale emphasis of AT. She noted statewide trends in Utah, where dairy numbers have declined and small operations are challenged by rising costs. “Scale is huge to me,” another commissioner said, stressing that a hobby or very small agritourism dairy could be acceptable but large operations should not be added without explicit limits and waste controls.

Public commenters included a resident urging support for local food and a representative of Ballerina Farm, who requested narrow zoning language to permit a small sheep dairy built for education. The Ballerina Farm representative said they had drafted proposed language informed by USDA guidance and inspectors and emphasized waste and manure management plans.

After extended discussion the commission voted to forward a positive recommendation to City Council to add several uses to the AT allowed‑use table (bakery; farm animals and livestock/petting farm; park and playground; nursery/greenhouse; and classes/instruction). Commissioners did not adopt a final position to allow unrestricted commercial dairies in the AT zone; many said they would be open to a narrowly defined agritourism or hobby dairy with explicit caps and mitigation measures.

What to watch: commissioners asked staff to draft clear, enforceable limits (animal counts, manure management and setbacks) if council directs inclusion of any form of dairy in the AT zone. The commission flagged the need to align any new definitions with state health and agricultural oversight and to identify the specific harms (noise, odor, traffic, animal incidents) that conditions in the code would mitigate.

Next steps: The forwarded allowed‑use changes go to City Council for review. If council adopts any of the proposed additions or a revised dairy definition, the commission and staff will need to craft implementing language for development standards, screening, manure handling and operating plans.